Lone Star Book Blog Tour: Light from Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker (Review)

LIGHT FROM DISTANT STARS
by
SHAWN SMUCKER
Genre: Christian Fiction / Magical Realism / Rural Fiction
Publisher: Revell
Date of Publication: July 16, 2019
Number of Pages: 400
Scroll down for Giveaway!

When Cohen Marah steps over his father’s body in the basement embalming room of the family’s funeral home, he has no idea that he is stepping into a labyrinth of memory.

Over the next week, Cohen’s childhood comes back in living color. The dramatic events that led to his parents’ separation. The accident Cohen witnessed and the traumatic images he couldn’t unsee. And the two children in the forest who became his friends–and enlisted him in a dark and dangerous undertaking. As the lines blur between what was real and what was imaginary, Cohen is faced with the question he’s been avoiding:

Is he responsible for his father’s death?

Master story weaver Shawn Smucker relays a tale both eerie and enchanting, one that will have you questioning reality and reaching out for what is true, good, and genuine.

“Sometimes people don’t have the power to be
what we need them to be for us.”

Light from Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker is more than a tale of a grown man coming to terms with events from his childhood and his rocky relationship with his father, all with a hefty dose of Christianity. Cohen Marah’s adolescence consisted of baseball and lying under the pew each Sunday listening to his father’s sermon, but a spontaneous decision based on jealousy and confusion sets life-altering changes in motion for both Cohen and his family.

The overall story seamlessly flows between Cohen’s present at age 40 and his past when his childhood took a heart-wrenching turn. In the present, Cohen confronts his feelings of responsibility for his father’s impending death through the sacramental act of reconciliation and through the swirling memories of when his family splintered beyond repair. Shawn Smucker profoundly presents a story that on the surface is about a son remembering his childhood and a far-fetched, mystical memory of  when he meets two children and together they confront an unknown Beast. But on a deeper level, this story reveals universal truths about family, childhood, and relationships. Families are never perfect, parents are fallible, and children sometimes become confused between reality and fantasy as a form of self-preservation.

What is this Beast from Cohen’s past? While that mystery is eventually revealed, the symbolism of the Beast gives this story an interesting depth. What if the Beast represents the struggle of adolescence and the coming of age in a household that is anything but stable? Or perhaps the Beast represents betrayal and the inability to forgive oneself and others. Maybe the Beast is a stand in for loneliness or sadness when a child must navigate into adulthood alone. Parents who hurt their children are also Beasts. Each reader will see this frightening shadow differently, and that is what makes this novel so fantastic.

Light from Distant Stars explores many emotions and often travels down dark and threatening paths, both real and imaginary. Just as the light is forever linked to its distant star, so is our past forever linked to our present as we traverse through life. The hospital is an interesting setting as Cohen and his sister, Kaye, who is pregnant with twins, watch their father’s life slowly slip away. Death and life are engaged in a slow and heartbreaking dance here, and the author beautifully presents the two with dignity and wonder, mixed with a little bit of terror.

Shawn Smucker’s writing is excellent, and he skillfully paints characters, scenes, emotions, and actions with a tantalizing literary brush. His ability to combine drama, horror, and magical realism and still maintain an air of credibility firmly positions him high on the list of authors to follow, to read, and to wait anxiously for that next book.

Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win some absolutely amazing prizes!


Shawn Smucker is the author of the young adult novels The Day the Angels Fell and The Edge of Over There, as well as the memoir Once We Were Strangers. He lives with his wife and six children in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

GRAND PRIZE
Copy of Light from Distant Stars
+ Look to the Stars 8”x5” Journal + $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card; 
2ND PRIZE
Copy of Light from Distant Stars + Personal Library Kit; 
3RD PRIZE
Copy of Light from Distant Stars + $10 Starbucks Gift Card. 
July 17-27, 2019
(US ONLY)

CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

7/17/19 BONUS post Story Schmoozing Book Reviews
7/17/19 Excerpt Hall Ways Blog
7/18/19 Review Book Fidelity
7/19/19 Excerpt Sybrina’s Book Blog
7/20/19 Review Max Knight
7/21/19 Playlist All the Ups and Downs
7/22/19 Review Forgotten Winds
7/23/19 Author Interview Texas Book Lover
7/23/19 BONUS Review That’s What She’s Reading
7/24/19 Top Five The Page Unbound
7/25/19 Review Reading by Moonlight
7/26/19 Review The Clueless Gent
blog tour services provided by
Follow me on social media